Fairy Tail Story
by Thatgirlamanda
Summary: I don't really have much for a summary, but the story is much better, I promise you! Anyways, it's basically about struggles of falling in love, and hard times between characters
1. Chapter 1

**_So, this is the first chapter for this story, and I really hope you guys like it :D_**

 ** _Unfortunately, Fairy Tail characters do not belong to me, no matter how bad I want them to be :(_**

 ** _So I hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

People used to tell me, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." They'd always expect me to get the idea behind the message. Obviously that isn't working. All they think about it is how poetic and life changing it sounds, and how it inspires someone to get through their hard times. Well, if you take it from me, I think it it sounds like complete bullshit.

 _10 years ago…._

A little girl, no more than six years old ran down the hallways. "Your majesty, _please_ come back here," said the young man that was chasing her.

"Hahaha Temiki-kun, you can't catch me!" she said as a smile graced her lips, as she continued to run down the hallway. Soon after, the little girl reached the doors of a library, and ran in, right into the arms of a woman.

"Mama, Mama, look!" she said holding up a piece of paper. A woman, around her mid 20's, with long, brown hair and beautiful, deep blues eyes held up the paper in front of her.

"Oh it's so beautiful, Miki, you must show this to your father when he gets home," she said, smiling brightly at her child.

"Lady Minako, I am so sorry that you were interrupted, I tried to tell her to wait until you were finished, but she didn't listen, and just ran rig-"

"It's alright, Temiki," she said smiling, "I don't mind," and with that, she took Miki into her arms, and they both went out of the library, oblivious to the shadow following them. Once outside, Minako put Miki on the bench of the fountain, and sat down next to her.

"Now Miki, tell me, why did you run away from Temiki's class?"

"It's not that I didn't want to, he was just being a meany because he wouldn't let me show you my drawing sooner," she said with her arms crossed, a pout edged onto her face.

Minako sighed, "Oh Miki, you could've waited you know, it's not like I am going anywhere, and if I do, just remember that I will always be right here to protect you from the danger," she said as she put her hand over Miki's heart. Miki instantly smiled.

"Alright Mommy," she giggled.

Minako smiled and laughed, "I love you, Miki, don't forget it."

 _Blood._

That's all Miki saw before she saw her mother fall to the ground, not moving _._ Miki's eyes went wide.

"Momma?" she said with a shaky voice, "Momma, please wake up, why are you covered in red? You're not supposed to be sleeping, you said you'd protect me!" she halved screamed.

"She's not gonna wake up anytime soon little girl," said a man with a cloak around him hiding his face. All Miki could see was the pierce, glowing purple eyes before everything went dark.

 _Where am I?_

 _Am I dead?_

 _Where's Mama? Why isn't she here with me?_

 _It's so cold. Is this what death feels like?_

 _I feel myself being lift up. Is it that scary man? No, it couldn't be, this man radiates a safe aura on me._

 _Is that you Daddy? Daddy? Why aren't you answering? Can't you hear me?_

 _Please answer. I don't know what to do._

 _I feel so alone._

Bright, blue eyes opened. They looked around to see where their host was. She was in a forest surrounded by trees, and surrounded by two men. She couldn't see clearly because of the purple light that blinded her.

"Daddy?" she asked weakly. One of the two men stopped talking, and quickly went to her side in an instant. Grabbing her hand gently, he spoke,

"Miki, baby, are you alright?" he asked.

 _Why does Daddy sound sad? Was he crying?_

Then, all the memories came rushing back to her. Her and Mama sitting on the bench of the fountain, Mama talking to her, Mama falling in red, and those eyes. Those purple eyes, holding so much hatred and revenge. Her eyes went wide. Small tears dripped down her cheeks. Only then she had realized what had happened. She then let out a shrill, pained scream.

Hours later, she woke up, now finding herself on a train.

"Ah my dear, it seems you've finally woken up," an old man said as he handed the sleepy child a cup of tea.

"Thank you Mister," Miki said as she took a sip into her mouth.

"You are very much welcome my dear. Tell me, what is your name child?"

"It's not nice to ask someone's name without saying yours first, Mister," she replied. The mystery man let out a laugh.

"Ah, good point, well, let me start again, my name is Makarov, what is yours?" he asked.

"My name is Miki," she replied timidly, "where's Mommy and Daddy?" she asked, looking around.

Makarov's face fell for a moment before he quickly replaced it with a smile.

"Well my dear, your parents had to go somewhere for a long while, so they intrusted me to watch you for now on. I don't know when they'll be back though," he replied.

"Oh, alright then," Miki said with a small smile, "can I call you grandpa then?"

Makarov spit the tea out of his mouth before whacking her across the head.

"No you may not!" he replied, still dazed from that horrid question. Miki pouted.

"Fine, where are we going anyways, old man?" Makarov just about had a heart attack there before composing himself.

"We are headed back to a guild that I run."

"A guild?" Miki asked with one eyebrow raised, "what's a guild?"

"Well, you see, a guild is where we come together, and go on missions. But what makes the guild's special is that we use magic."

Miki's eyes went wide with excitement, "Magic?!" She said with a smile.

"Yep, that's right, and-"

"Will I be able to do magic?" The little girl interrupted. Makarov's eye twitched.

"Of course you can dear, what are you most interested in?"

"Well, I do like music, but-"

"Then music it is then," Makarov explained sticking his finger in the air, "you shall become a music mage, one that can manipulate music in such a way that no one can dare surpass!" He exclaimed excitedly with a heart filled laugh.

"But, I don't even know if I can do magic though," Miki replied sadly.

"Don't worry, I know you can. I've seen you shield yourself from danger at such a young age. The power that I saw from you is the most powerful magic that I've seen in a while to be honest. Even I couldn't surpass you even if I did try," he said with a genuine smile, "you have a special gift there young Miki, and I'll help you along the way."

The two then sat there in a comfortable silence before Miki asked,

"So, what guild are we headed to Makarov?" Miki asked, her head tilting slightly.

"We're headed to Fairy Tail. But you don't need to worry, everyone there is very nice." he replied with a smile on his face. Miki smiled too, leaning back in the chair, and closing her eyes.

 _Present…._

Holding up a heart shaped necklace, blue eyes looked at the gem intensely. She let out a breath that she was holding a while now. She finally closed her eyes, a smile graced on her lips. _'Finally some actual peace'_ she thought before the doors of Fairy Tail got kicked down.

"WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!"

The girl sweat dropped. _'Please someone kill me now'_ she thought, as she slammed her head into the table.

* * *

 _ **So that's the first chapter you guys! I hope you liked it. This is just a little prologue to tell you guys about my character, and I'm really sorry if there are any grammar mistakes I accidentally made along the way, so I'll try to fix that!**_

 _ **Also, please don't forget to leave any reviews for me, it'd mean a lot to know that some people are actually reading, and if you guys have any suggestions on what I could fix, or make better, please feel free to tell me!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**SoI am back with chapter 2 of this wonderful story! I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, and please make sure to comment a review when you get the chance! It'll help me out so much.**_

 _ **Again, Fairy Tail characters (except for Miki :P) are sadly not mine *Goes into corner and cries***_

 _ **Anyways, enjoy!**_

* * *

'Out of all the times for him to come back, he decides to come back now' Miki thought as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

'Doesn't Natsu have anything else to do instead of creating fights with the guild' she thought. Natsu, as he was called, is a boy in his late teens, with bright, soft pink hair, tanned skin, and coal, black eyes that ironically make him adorable instead of inimitable. At least Miki is able to tolerate him.

'Hmmm….Seems like he brought someone new to the guild. I've never seen her before' She had blond hair, having a piece in a ponytail, with a blue and white outfit, obviously showing her enormous cleavage 'I mean honestly, how do girls have such big boobs when mine are so small. She let out a sigh, 'Well, at least I'm not the only person with small boobs' as she looked over to one of her best friends, Levy. She had beautiful, blue hair that was pulled back from her headband with a cute orange and pink outfit to match. She was, as she's always been seen doing, reading her books with a stoic expression, but being with her for years taught her that even though she doesn't look it, you can see she's enjoying the book from the look in her eyes. Her thoughts were soon sadly interrupted by the arguing that was happening between two mages.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME ICE PRINCESS?!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK FLAME BRAIN?"

Ahhhh. Of course. Natsu and Gray going at it again. Every. Single. Damn. Time. She was honestly going to lose it soon. It was really only ten in the morning. She sighed as she rested her head in her arms.

"Um, excuse me?" A voice asked. Miki looked up to see who it was, but only to find that it was the new girl that had come in with Natsu.

"Um, y-yes," she stuttered. She cursed herself. Every Time someone was to talk to her, she'd end up stuttering and then rambling about something. Not a pleasant experience.

"Do you know where I could sign in to become a member of Fairy Tail?"

"Well-"

"Oh I do. Here, let me help," interrupted a new voice.

'Oh, it's only Mirajane' she thought. But before she could say anything else, a frying pan came out of no where, and hit Mirajane in the head, knocking her out cold. Miki's eyes widened then looked around the guild. Apparently there's a fight going on between everyone.

'How did I not notice?' she thought. Miki then quietly proceeded to get out, but then, a booming voice echoed throughout the guild scaring the newbie, and everyone else.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU IDIOTS ARE DOING?!" a black demon asked. The new girl, known as Lucy, looked as if she was about to run out. Miki laughed a little. But soon stopped as he looked around to stop on Miki's face. After she quickly stopped, he looked towards the others.

"Alright you brats," the deep voice started, "who started the fight this time?"

After saying that, everyone in the guild, except for Lucy, pointed towards the fire and near bare ice mage, who smiled sheepishly at the demon.

He sighed. After a few more moments he started to diminish to a new form, or known as Makarov.

"You two could possibly be the biggest idiots that I have ever encountered in my life."

"Well if it wasn't for ice princess over here-"

"EXCUSE ME?! But it was your fault too!" An angry ice mage replied. Both of them ended up getting in each others faces. Miki sighed. This was going to be a long day. All of a sudden, they walked away after Makarov giving them the glare of his time to them. Natsu went over to Lucy to show her around the guild. As for Gray, he sat down at the bar, ordering himself a smoothie. You see, Gray is a very handsome man, being 18 and all, with a necklace around his neck, and in his underwear half the time. The two mages became friends right away when Miki first showed up to the guild. She was too shy to talk to anyone besides Makarov, but one day a boy in his underwear, which she thought was the most bizarre thing she's ever seen, came up to her, and soon started talking with each other. They became inseparable since.

"Looks like you had a good morning," the music mage said, sarcasm dripping of each word.

"Obviously," the ice mage replied, taking a sip from his smoothie, then looking up towards Miki with a cheeky expression.

"We should hang out," Gray said suddenly.

"W-Wh-what?" a flustered mage replied, almost dropping her drink.

"You know, hang out, being friends for old time's sake," Gray replied, being a little flustered himself, "also it's just that I don't get to see you so much anymore," he replied honestly. Miki finally composed herself, and smiled a small smile.

"Alright, where do you want to go? If you want, we can go to my place," she said.

"Cool," Gray replied with a smile, "does four o' clock sound good?"

"It sounds perfect," she said with a smile.

"Cool, cool, so uh, see you around then?" he asked, getting up.

"Definitely," she replied giving him a smile which he gladly returned. It didn't go unnoticed though, when he jumped in the air pumping his hand high, shouting a silent "Yes!" as he walked out.

'Friends' she thought as she got up to go talk to Levy, who was silently smirking at her.

The next day had been surprisingly quiet for the first time since Natsu got back. Miki used the opportunity to go to the library to find a book. She was on the latter reaching a book when suddenly her foot slipped, causing her to fall, but instead of falling on the floor, she fell into the arms of someone.

"Are you alright?" a deep voice asked. Miki looked up to find a man, with orange hair, with beautiful hazel eyes casting down on her.

"U-uh y-ye-yes, I'm fine!" she squeaked.

"You know, you're really cute when you stutter," he said putting her down, "so, what's a cute girl like you doing in a library?" he asked, a smirk edged onto his face. Miki turned bright red, "W-well, y-y-you see, um, I was j-just getting a book, you know to like read and stuff and then I gotta go do this tonight, and oh my god I'm rambling again, I'm so sorry you're witnessing this," she said in a hurried tone, holding a book close to her chest.

"I think it's cute," he said smiling at her. She smiled timidly back.

"What are you doing this Friday?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh! Um, well, I don't think I'm actually doing anything," she replied.

"Good, do you want to maybe go out then?" he said.

"L-like a date?" she said unsure.

"Like a date," he said nonchalantly, "pick you up at seven?" he said, taking one of Miki's hands in his own.

"S-sure," she said, "But, uh, I um, gotta get going now though," she said going up the stairs.

"See you on Friday," he called up to her.

"Y-yeah same to you," she replied with a small smile, before exiting the library.

"You seem to be in a bright mood today," Gray replied. Both Miki and Gray were headed back to her house.

"Yeah, I am, aren't I?" she said with a small giggle.

"No, but seriously, you're much more happier than usual, what happened?" he asked.

"Well I was in the library, and I was on the ladder trying to get this book that was high on the shelf, but my foot slipped, and as cheesy as this is going to sound, I ended up falling into the arms of this really hot guy and-"  
"Wait, a guy?" Gray asked surprised.

"Yes, a guy," she said, "and he was a very nice man too. And that's why I'm going out with him on Friday," she said in a matter of fact tone.

"Wait, what?" Gray asked obviously confused.

"I just said-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that, but, do you even know this guy Miki? I mean, what does this guy even do?"

"I don't know," she said bluntly, yet in an innocent tone.

"You don't know? So, you're saying that you don't know this guy, yet you're going on a date with him?"

"Yes, Gray, I am. Why are you being so overprotective. This guy is very nice to me. Aren't you happy for me?" She asked with tearful eyes. Gray stopped in his tracks, eyes going wide. He then quickly pulled Miki into a hug, holding her close.

"I'm sorry," Gray finally spoke into her hair, "it's just that I don't want you to get hurt over some guy you don't know, and that it's only like your what? First, second?-"

"First, actually," Miki replied with a muffled laugh. After a few more moments they broke apart.

"Alrighty then," Mki said after composing herself, "we should get back to my house though before it gets dark," she said.

"Okay then," Gray said before he crouched down in front of Miki, "what?"

"Um, what are you doing?" she asked with a small laugh.

"Get on," he said smiling back on her. She let out a laugh after before jumping onto his back. Gray then stood up, adjusting Miki on his back, and then continued to her house.

"Ha! I win again!" Miki said as she lifted her fisted hand into the air, After Gray and her got home (and did some cleaning in the house which Gray was not amused by at all) they sat down in her living room, supposedly playing a small game of checkers, but then soon turned into a full out checker war.

"What's the score now Gray?" Miki asked eagerly. Gray sighed, with a depressed look on his face, as he put down another point for Miki.

"It's now 25 to 9, with you winning sadly," he said sighed, earning him a playful smack on his arm.

"Awww, Grayyyy~" she said in a sing-song voice, "don't be upset, I'm sure you'll beat me one day," she said patting his arm gently. What she didn't know though was that Gray was actually really good at checkers, but he lets her win. Most of the time. He mentally smirked. Oh the things he does for her. Although she never notices half the time. He sighed. 'And now she has a date' Gray mentally cursed.

"Hey, do you wanna go get some food?" Miki asked, eyes wide with happiness. Gray could never say no to that face. He nodded and they both went out.

"How you can stand the cold Fullbuster is beyond my thinking," Miki said as both of them walked down the streets of Magnolia. As always, Gray walked around half naked, (well he did have his coat on, but then lost it somehow along the way, which Miki can still never understand after all these years), and Miki, who wore the complete opposite. She wore a beautiful, light grey trenchcoat, with fluffy, white gloves, her hat, which had bunny ears at the end (courtesy of Gray getting the hat for her on her birthday, which ended with him getting tackled by the over excited teenage girl), and her boots.

"Well, since I am an ice mage, and thanks to Ur, I now can stand the cold and end up stripping whenever I could," he said proudly, "which is basically all the time," he said sheepishly with his hand behind his head.

"Oh. My. GODDDD!" The teenage girl screamed suddenly which made Gray very much startled, "we NEED to go into that music store. I need to see if they have any new instruments that came in," she said excitedly as she pulled Gray into the store, giving him no chance to protest. Miki started to look around until her eyes landed on the most beautiful, silver flute that she's ever seen in her life.

"Oh my god," she whispered, as she walked up to the case, "I need this," she said planting her hands on the glass.

"Hello little lady, how may I help you today," said a kind man.

"How much is this flute?" Miki said eagerly, eyes wide in desperation.

"I'm sorry hun, but this flute is not for sale," he said sadly. He was about to recommend something else to her, but stopped. She was looking at him with the biggest eyes he's ever seen with small tears forming. The man started to sweat, not liking this situation.

"I can't believe he let me buy the flute," she said happily, holding the flute case close to her, "and for such a low price too, I legit thought he would charge me so much more," she said a little confused, "do you know why Gray?"

"No I'm not sure, probably got a soft spot for you after he saw your expression," Gray said.

"Hmm, probably," she said as she happily walked off with a little skip in her step. Gray smiled to himself. What actually ended up happening was after the man said that the flute wasn't for sale, he was about to recommend something else for Miki until he saw Gray behind her, giving him a hard glare towards him. He got too scared for his life, so he ended up saying that the flute was actually for sale, and that it was only 20 jewels. Gray looked ahead to see a happy Miki humming to herself with a smile on her face.

'This is probably the first time in a couple years that I've seen her smile like that' Gray thought to himself. He soon walked faster to catch up to Miki.

"Oh my god!" Miki suddenly said.

"What?" Gray asked, internally cringing of the thought of another instrument.

"What day is it tomorrow?" Miki asked.

"Uh, Friday? Why?" Gray asked. Miki froze. Gray looked at her with a confused expression before realization hit him like a brick.

'Oh no' he thought as he watched her expression change from confusion to full on shocked.

"Oh. My. God. Oh my gosh, my date is tomorrow," she said frantically before looking at Gray with pleading eyes, "can you help me get an outfit for tomorrow?"

Gray let out a breath, then smiled at her, "Sure," he replied with a laugh. Miki flushed from embarrassment,

"S-stop, Gray, it's not that funny! This is important to me you know," she said stomping her foot down. Gray looked taken aback, his eyes going wide.

'That's the first time since I've met her that she's stuttered to me in a conversation'

His hair covered his eyes as he looked away.

"I'm sorry Miki," he said in a soft voice. Miki gave a small smile.

"It's alright, Gray," she said, putting her hand on his arm, then with a little bit more happiness, she said, "Do you still want to come with me to help me with my outfit for tomorrow?" she asked. Gray let out a little laugh before replying with a small "Yeah,"

Miki let a smile cross her face before she took his hand into her own, and led them to one of the stores.

"What do you think of this one, Gray?" Miki asked, spinning around in a dress. It was a lavender purple, sleeveless with pink ribbon tying the dress back.

"I think the dress looks fine," Gray said, arm resting on a table with his hand underneath his chin. Miki let out an annoyed sigh.

"Gray, come on, this is the fifth dress you said that comment on," she whined. Gray looked at her for a few moments before going over to the dress shelf, pulling out a random dress, and throwing it on Miki's face.

"Try this one," he said, sleep entering his voice. Miki let out a huff before spinning back around to go back to the dressing room to try on the dress. A few minutes went by until Gray heard a small squeal of delight. He expected her to come out with the dress on, but instead, he got Miki running towards him with her regular clothes on, giving him a huge hug.

"Oh my gosh, Gray, that dress was perfect, we must go buy it now!" she said releasing him from her death grip, and running off to the cashier. Gray still sat there, stunned, and eyes wide open.

'What…..in the world just happened?' he thought as he slowly got up to go meet Miki at the cashier, who is obviously trying to flirt with her. Gladly sending a death glare towards him, he grabbed Miki's hand, and the bag, and got them the hell out of there.

Once Gray and Miki got out of the store, he let out a breath of relief, after that, they decided that it was pretty much time to go. Once they arrived at Miki's house, Miki stopped suddenly, making Gray confused for a moment before he felt a pair of soft, warm lips against his cheek. His face grew red immediately. Miki took a step back, hands together, her face flushed as well.

"I uh, just wanted to say thanks for the evening, you know? I had a really nice time with you. I'll um, talk to you tomorrow though, kay?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, still in a state of shock. Before he could say more, Miki already headed into her house, but not before she turned to him with the warmest smile he's ever seen on her face, and a little wave before she closed the door silently. Gray still stood there, not moving an inch.

'Wow' he thought, 'Is it just me, or does she get even more beautiful every time that I look at her' he thought, but then soon remembered that he needed to get home himself. Gray never stopped smiling like an idiot all the way back to his place, even when he closed his eyes for sleep, his smile never faded.

* * *

 _ **So this is the end of chapter 2, hope you guys liked it, and I'll be seeing you guys in the next chapter! :D**_

 _ **Also I apologize for any mistakes that I made.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys I'm back with chapter 3! It's been a while I guess, but only because of school and stuff, but anyways here's more of the story.**_

 _ **For this chapter, it's more a little bit towards Natsu and Gray time, and I'm really sorry if I messed up a couple of things with them, it's just that's what I thought would go down with them.**_

 _ **Anyways...Characters aren't mine still :( But Miki is!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

The next day was mostly calm for everyone. As Gray walked into the guild, he looked over towards where Miki was, and he instantly tensed up. He saw Miki talking to the guy that she mentioned the other day. His blood started to boil as headed towards the pair, but before he could even get two steps in, a hand shot out, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He let out a small yelp as he was being pulled towards the force. He turned around to yell at the person, but stopped dead on his tracks. He laughed out of fear as he tugged his shirt a little, as he stared at the person in front of him.

"H-Hey Erza," he stuttered, "didn't expect you to be back so soon."

Erza stared down at him.

"Were you planning on going over there, Gray?" she demanded. Gray stared down at the floor as he nodded his head like a small child.

"Why?" she demanded in her booming voice. Gray flinched a little before answering,

"It's just that when I got in here, I was expecting to see Miki by herself, so I could go talk to her, but instead, I see her with some dude which I'm pretty sure is the dude she mentioned the other day, and I kind of got jealous," he concluded. Erza sighed.

"You like that girl, don't you?" she asked, in a softer tone. Gray was taken aback, but soon firmly nodded his head. Erza smiled in triumph.

"She is a nice choice. Very sweet girl, I think any guy would be happy to have her. Don't tell anyone, but I also do not trust that man she is with. He gives off an uncomfortable aura." Gray nodded in agreement. But before Erza left, she turned to Gray one more time,

"Just look out for her Gray, I feel like she's going to need protection," she stated firmly. Gray nodded, mentally agreeing.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that," he said before a satisfied Erza nodded and walked away, getting a piece of strawberry cake she saw earlier. After she did, he looked over towards where Miki and the guy were sitting, only to see Miki waving goodbye to him before walking off. He quickly followed, being unnoticed from everyone, until he was close enough to surprise Miki, and spin her around.

"Hey Gray," she said smiling brightly, "what's up?"

"Nothing," he replied, "just wanted to see what you were up to. So, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Well, if you must know," she said, "I've decided that I wanted to go on a mission for once, you know, finally getting out there," she said, hands waving around.

"Really? Cool," he said. "What kind of mission is it?" he asked.

"Um, well," Miki started.

"What? Is it bad?"

"No, it's just an S-class mission," she stated.

"Wait," Gray said, grabbing her wrist, "aren't those dangerous?"

Miki let out a small laugh, "Yeah they are, but it's okay Gray," she said petting his hair, "I'll be fine either way."

"Does Master Makarov know about this?" Gray asked.

Miki smiled and held up her finger to her lips, letting out a quiet _'Shhh'_ before smiling to herself, and skipping away.

 _'That girl never ceases to amaze me'_ Gray said letting out a small chuckle, only to turn around and bump into someone. Gray fell to the ground and opened his mouth to yell at said someone, but soon died out as he stared at the guy in front of him. You know, the one that Miki was always talking to nowadays. Gray still stared at him with widened eyes before the said man walked past him letting out the smallest whisper of the word,

 _"Worthless~"_

Even after the man had disappeared five minutes ago, Gray was still on the ground with widened eyes, barely hearing someone calling out his name.

"-ay," the voice said.

"-RAY!" the voice said a little louder.

 _"What?"_ Gray thought before he was hit back into reality.

"GRAY!" Natsu said as he shook the boy's shoulders. Now realizing that he was coming back into reality, said boy let go of Gray's shoulders, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Jeez, stripper, I didn't think you wouldn't ever come back," Natsu said as he took Gray's hand to help him off the ground.

"What happened?" Gray asked.

"What do you mean what happened?" Natsu said, looking at him with an annoyed look, "you were obviously sitting on your ass just staring at nothing, you also looked like you were dead or something," Natsu said, voice getting just a little quieter. Gray looked at him with his mouth agape, not expecting that from his long, life time rival. After getting over his little temporary shock, he let a small smile grace his lips.

"It's alright Natsu," Gray said bluntly, "just a little shock, that's all."

"Oh," Natsu said, "what happened?" he asked sitting on the bench near them. He patted the side of the bench next to him with a reassuring smile on his face. Gray smiled, remembering how Natsu was always like this when Gray was distressed about something.

" _Hey Gray," a seven year-old Natsu said. Eight year-old Gray looked up with tear stained cheeks. Furiously wiping his face, Gray looked at Natsu._

" _What do you want?" Gray asked trying to compose himself, but failing miserably. Natsu put on a small smile, and crouched down in front of Gray putting his arms around his knees, looking at him._

" _What happened?" Natsu asked before looking at his cheeks, "were you crying?" he said as he reached a hand out to touch his cheek, but only to be denied when Gray turned his face away from him. Natsu frowned a little, noticing bruising on Gray's face._

" _Gray," Natsu said lowly, "who did this?" he asked._

 _Gray looked up at him with widened eyes, "U-um no-no one Natsu, I uh, just tripped is all," Gray said, not meeting Natsu's eyes. Natsu narrowed his eyes at Gray, trying to keep the fire within him to a simmer, and not at a boil, like all the other times._

" _Gray," Natsu said sternly, "I know you're lying," he said._

 _Gray looked up at him with fear and desperation in his eyes, "No-NO it's true, I-I-I SWEAR I FELL I SWEAR!" Gray said, now starting to sob. Natsu put his arms around Gray as the boy cried into his shirt._

" _It's okay Gray, shh, it's okay," Natsu said, rubbing soothing circles on the boy's back, trying to calm him down. After what seemed like forever, Gray's sobs finally went down to him whimpering._

" _N-Natsu?" Gray said after fully calming down._

" _Yeah Gray?" Natsu said putting his full attention on the younger boy._

" _A-about the question you asked me, the one when you were asking about who did this," he said gesturing towards his now bruised cheek, "I-I didn't exactly fall down," he started saying. Natsu tightened his hold on Gray, giving him encouragement to go on, Gray sniffed,_

 _"Well, when I was playing, t-this group of boys just came up to me, a-and told me I couldn't play there anymore," Gray stopped and closed his eyes, trying not to have anymore tears escape. After a few moments of trying to calm down, Gray finally continued, "I-I asked them why I couldn't play there anymore, and do you know what they told me? They told me I couldn't play anymore because it was apparently their spot, and that I was too unsuitable for them," a few tears started slipping from Gray's eyes again. Natsu took his hand and wiped a few tears, letting Gray cry silently while clutching onto Natsu for dear life._

 _"So I told them that I-I wasn't going to move because I was there first, a-and so one of the guys came up to me, and just stared at me. B-before I knew what was happening, t-the guy that w-was staring at me, all of a sudden, h-he just hit me, like not a slap, but it was a p-punch, and then the other guys started hitting me too, a-and that's how I also got these," Gray said as he lifted up his shirt to reveal more bruises, some darker than others. Natsu's eyes widened as Gray sat there crying silently. All of a sudden, Gray felt a pair of arms wrapping around him gently, careful of the bruises. He looked up in surprise to see that Natsu was hugging him. Gray hugged back just as tight as he tried to calm himself down._

 _"Gray," Natsu said, "did you know who those guys were," he said trying to calm down his rising anger. Gray only shook his head as he gripped Natsu's shirt much more tightly than before, not wanting to be left alone._

 _"It's alright Gray," Natsu said, "they're not here anymore, they can't get you," he said, trying to calm Gray down. After a while, Gray finally started to calm down._

 _"You alright now?" Natsu asked._

 _"Yeah," Gray said, giving Natsu a little smile. Natsu smiled back in returned and helped Gray off the ground._

 _"C'mon Gray," Natsu said, taking his hand, "let's get back to the guild," he said walking off, hand in hand with Gray._

Gray smiled at the memory. He and Natsu became a little closer after that. After a few more moments, he went and sat down next to Natsu on the bench. Natsu put an arm around Gray,

"Alright Gray, what's the matter? You've looked depressed, since the day Miki started talking to that new guy," Natsu said then stopped. He smirked towards Gray.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Natsu said, poking Gray on his side, letting out a small laugh. Gray pouted, looking at Natsu.

"Oh, shut up Flame Brain," Gray said, lightly punching the side of Natsu's shoulder. It was silent for a moment between the two boys before they both starting laughing. After a few more moments, both boys sat in a comfortable silence.

"So," Natsu began, "do you like Miki or something?" he asked.

Gray's cheeks flared up a bit, kicking his feet a little, "Yeah, something like that," he said.

"Cool," Natsu said, putting both his arms behind his head, "but I don't think you would need to worry so much about her," he started saying. Gray looked at him appalled.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked, confused.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, basically what I'm saying, you care about her a lot, right?" he asked. Gray nodded. "Well, basically what I'm saying is that you don't have to worry about her as much as you should," he said, "but, I mean, yeah still worry about her, but just not like that. She's a strong girl you know," he said, "can take down a dragon if she wanted too," he said in a serious tone. Gray looked at him with widened eyes.

"Seriously?" Gray said astonished.

"Dead serious," Natsu said, "saw something like it with my own eyes. It was funny too cause this happened when she was like, ten or something," he said, not noticing how Gray's eyes seemed to widened with every word.

"So that's why she's able to take on an S-class mission," Natsu concluded, "and that's why you shouldn't worry about her as much," he finished. He looked over towards Gray, and saw that he was trying to process the information that he gave him.

"I know it sounds confusing and not believable at first, but seriously, trust me, much, much, _much_ stronger than you think."

Gray slowly nodded his head. "Okay," he said, "I guess I could deal with that," he said, letting a little smile break on his face. Natsu slapped his arm around Gray's neck,

"Well, then, after that depressing moment, wanna go for some refreshments?" Natsu said, a playful look in his eyes. Gray laughed a little and put his arm around Natsu's neck as well.

"You bet your ass I do Flame Brain!" Gray shouted, "race ya?" he asked.

"HELL YEAH, LETS GO ICE PRINCESS!," Natsu shouted as both boys starting sprinting back towards the guild, laughing and pushing each other out of the way to see who would reach the guild first.

* * *

 ** _So that's it for chapter 3, I hope you guys liked it, and it'd mean the world if you guys would leave a review for me for any suggestions in the near future, and I'll see you on the next chapter!_**


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